What Love Really Is
by Malyutka
Summary: "I love you" says more than three words; it is a conveyance of promises. The words do not have to be said for this to be felt- yet when any of these promises are broken, returning to a state where you can say those words and accept those promises in return takes time and commitment. It is not easy, but it is worth it. Itachi/OC OOCness


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just Takara and the plot.

A/N: A couple of things, just as general notifications:

1. I've never written a fic quite like this before: it's fairly explicit. If you don't like that, don't read it.

2. I'm aware characters in this (specifically Itachi) are OOC. I know this and I like this. If you don't, feel free to leave.

3. If you like this, please, please, review and tell me. Maybe I'll get around to finishing and polishing some other stories I've been keeping to myself.

Thanks everyone!

* * *

Itachi ran his hand up to her breast, his fingers deftly pinching a nipple. "Itachi!"

"Good girl, that's it, call my name." He slammed his hips into hers and she moaned.

"More," she gasped, rolling her hips to meet the next thrust. He shuddered at the pleasure of being within her.

"I love you," he murmured, honesty and desire lacing his tone as her hips and his ground together.

"What?" Takara stilled under him, her hands tangled in the sheets, her body taunt.

"I love you," he repeated simply, leaning down to nuzzle her neck. She tried to move and he rolled his hips, grinding her clit against his pubic bone and causing her to spasm. She whimpered at the pleasurable onslaught, her body loosening and one hand moved to try to cling to him, her nails scratching his chest. He shuddered at the sensation and made a moan of his own. He shifted to kiss her and she responded ferociously.

Their impromptu bout of sex continued, Itachi driving her into two orgasms before succumbing to his own. In the aftermath, Itachi wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him, nuzzling into her neck. She dropped off into sleep and he sighed. "I do love you, Takara, more than you could ever know."

He followed her into sleep, his arm keeping her close, keeping her where she belonged beside him, where he could love her without fear of losing her.

The next morning she was gone when he woke.

"Takara," he murmured, feeling for her body next to his. The cool sheets caused his eyes to open and his body to freeze. "No," he whispered, "No."

Itachi shot out of bed and put clothes on, running out of the building. He couldn't sense her anywhere in the bustle of streets.

"You okay, man?" The doorman looked at him like he was crazy and Itachi let out a bark of a hysterical laugh. He had just admitted to Takara he loved her and she'd fled on him. He was anything but okay.

"Did you see a girl, long red hair likely in a braid, black pants, and a black elbow-length mesh top with cerulean armor?" He demanded of the man.

"Yeah, scared looking chick ran out of here about two hours ago," the man said, backing away as Itachi began to scowl.

"Fuck," Itachi swore as he strode back inside. She would be long gone by now. Takara was fast –much faster than he'd ever be- and he didn't know where she'd go. No, that wasn't true; eventually she'd go back to Konoha but she'd have a mission to finish first. As he walked back to the room everyone froze in their spots, the KI he was outputting was so high.

He flopped back on the bed when he reached the room until the smell of sex hit him like a sucker punch of arousal and grief to the gut. He jumped up, hastily getting all of his things and leaving by the window.

Itachi loved her and no matter what it took to get her to realize his feelings for her were true, he would do it. She was everything to him; she should never doubt that.

* * *

Her apartment was cold and dark when she walked into it a week later, her mission complete. She sighed, about to take off her weaponry when she felt the other chakra signature in the room, hidden but still there. A kunai was sailing through the air in an instant but as the lights flickered on and Takara recognized the intruder, the man caught it easily.

"Itachi," she uttered without inflection, her face becoming blank.

"Takara," he nodded, placing the kunai on the table next to him, "I believe we need to talk."

"Interestingly enough, I don't. And seeing as we're in my home," she shrugged as she took the weapons off, "I believe you should go."

Her armor was next but as soon as it was off, he had his arms around her, her back pressed into his chest. She wriggled to get out of the hold but he only changed position and carried her to the couch. "I disagree, Takara, and I have no intention of leaving anytime soon."

"Oh, is that so," she jabbed her elbow backwards. He accepted the hit without releasing her and kept her tightly against him despite her squirming.

"Yes. I'm not leaving until you understand exactly what you are to me." He laid them both down on the couch.

"Then talk," Takara rolled her eyes until she found herself rolled under him.

"You won't listen," Itachi commented, straddling her hips.

"I'm not deaf or currently ignoring you." She pouted.

Itachi sighed, shaking his head, then leaned down and kissed her. Takara responded enthusiastically and they made out for some time, him stroking her body and her running her hands over his back and into his hair. Eventually the easy petting deepened into sliding hands under clothes and then into something heavier, their lips staying connected as they stroked each other over the edge. Both were trembling when they finished and stayed still for several moments as they recovered.

When they separated, Itachi climbed off her and carried her to her bed, lying her down on top of the covers before laying down himself. She decided his chest would make a good pillow (something she could blame oxytocin for, she was sure) and let her eyes start to drift shut.

"I love you," he whispered and her sleepiness disappeared. It was the third time she had heard him say those words to her but it caused her to still, all the tension her orgasm had gotten rid of flowing back into her body. Before she could move, she was on her back.

"See," her lover slid a hand under her to run across the tense musculature, "anytime I tell you how I feel, you don't _listen_."

"I heard you perfectly," Takara scoffed. "You have some notion that you love me, when all it really is, is satisfaction at having good sex and someone to talk to. You don't love me, you can't. Love doesn't exist. People delude themselves into believing it and then use it as an excuse when they're moping because someone broke the truth to them." She would've crossed her arms had their positions allowed it.

He sighed and laid beside her, tucking her body against his despite her reluctance. "Considering I know you haven't had any other relationships that could have caused such a cynical view, would you care to tell me where you got that idea?"

"I watched my mother for the first four years of my life be depressed whenever my father wasn't around and then him go crazy when she died. Both claimed to love me, but neither of them ever showed it. My mother refused to accept what I wanted to be and tried making me something I'm not. Chichi left me without a word of explanation, just like someone else I know. Would you like me to add the examples I've seen and not experienced myself?!" Takara yelled, sitting up and pulling away. Itachi looked annoyed, but her cut at him made the expression tinged with sadness as well.

"Besides Uchiha," her voice dropped into dullness, "I did think I loved you once. All I got from it was a broken heart." She fought the tears out of her eyes that reflexively came back when she thought of the years she spent alone.

"Takara-chan," he sighed, trying to hug her. She pulled away, rolling off her bed and walking to the window. If she didn't want him to see her cry, she couldn't let him comfort her; she'd breakdown in his arms. He'd always been able to comfort her; to make her let go and give in to her emotions before soothing her.

"You think it didn't kill me, leaving you the way I did?" Takara watched him with a mirror she'd left on the sill, seeing him stand behind her, staring at her back. "You think you didn't cross my mind every day? That I wasn't terrified -am still terrified- I'll leave you one day and you won't be here when I get back because I wasn't here to watch over you?"

"So you think I'm weak?" She asked. She focused on the part that didn't require facing his emotions. Once she'd been just as good at dealing with his emotions as he was at dealing with hers. Now she could barely deal with her own.

He walked towards her until he was standing behind her, his breath fanning over her neck. "I think you're the strongest person I know but it still haunts me." She set the mirror down softly.

His arms snaked around her waist and he pressed against her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I never meant to harm you; I left to keep you from being harmed."

"Oh really now?"

"My clan was planning to overthrow the Hokage and take over the village." She hadn't been expecting that. He'd never discussed killing his clan and leaving with her, she'd fought her curiosity and hadn't asked. Living in the present was safer.

Takara raised her eyebrows, "I see."

"Had they succeeded, any shinobi who wanted to live would have had to swear a vow of fealty to the clan. And it wasn't necessarily likely they would succeed, not at first, and you could have been killed then. The village would be at war, be vulnerable. I didn't want Sasuke-chan to live through that and I didn't want you to be hurt fighting." His arms tightened around her waist. She knew her getting hurt had always been a weak point of his.

"You thought I wouldn't swear over my loyalty?" She questioned.

"To my clan, no." Itachi sounded surprised.

"Not to your clan," Takara nodded, "But I would have sworn anything you wanted to you."

"Why?"

"Where am I from, Itachi?" Takara asked, leaning against him. Her back pressed into his solid chest and her weight was shifted as such that if he let go she'd fall backwards.

"You've never said." He replied, kissing the top of her head, "All you've implied is you aren't from here."

"Uzu no Kuni," she told him, "Uzushionigakure to be specific." She'd kept quiet about her origins to avoid painting a target on her back when she was too young to defend herself.

"Uzushio…ni?"

"The first village was destroyed in the third shinobi war. The second was destroyed when I was six by Iwa, but that isn't really the point I was going to make."

"Proceed then," he laid another kiss against her hair.

"I'm not innately loyal to this place, I'm loyal to those within it who are precious to me. And you were the most precious of them all. My loyalty was to you, you idiotic asshole." Takara spun around to face him and slapped his chest. "Had you asked I would have given you anything you wanted… or I would have left with you." She avoided looking into his eyes.

"Yet you claim not to understand love." He tipped her chin up.

"There is no such thing!" Takara wrenched herself away and walked into the other room. She'd believed in it once and only gotten hurt.

"How can you tell me how you feel about me and deny it!" Takara finally broke his calm.

"Felt, Uchiha, felt. And because you taught me that lust, gratitude, friendship and camaraderie can make a heady combination but in the end it means nothing." Her voice broke on the last word and she could feel the burning of furious tears in her eyes for the second time that night. She fought them down.

Itachi moved, quicker than she expected, and she found herself pinned to the wall, hands above her head and his body along every inch of hers, his Sharingan bright eyes staring down at her. "Fine then." He pulled away. "Goodbye Takara."

He left her standing against the wall, dazed and confused, wondering what the hell she'd just done.

* * *

Itachi sat on the edge of a cliff, one leg pulled up into his chest. He'd left Takara three months ago and hadn't seen a glimpse of her since.

Normally Itachi would track her down rather than the other way around, simply because it was harder for him to duck Kisame than it was for her to find time on her missions to spend with him. She didn't run anything lower than an A rank and rarely did she do anything with a team, so she had leeway to take a day out. She was fast enough to complete the mission even if she spent most of a day with him.

"Itachi-san," Kisame came out of the cave they were sheltering in. "It's not healthy to sit out in this."

The wind was strong, the air cold. It was winter. If Takara was here, he'd have to keep her close lest she freeze. She hated the cold. He'd never minded it as much.

"Come inside," Kisame tried to order him, but he shook his head.

"I'm fine where I am," he responded.

"Are you okay man? You've been a little out of it the past few months," the shark-like man asked.

Itachi glanced over. "I'm fine."

"Ah, the universal indicator that one is anything but," the blue-skinned man put on the manner of a sage. "Tell me, young one, is it a girl?"

Itachi glared at his Akatsuki partner, trying not to be somewhat amused by his actions.

"Ah it is, the Stupendous Shark Seer can tell."

"Stupendous Shark Seer?" Itachi looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"The one and only," Kisame grinned, his pointy teeth gnashing together. "I see," the man mimed looking into a crystal ball, "that you have lost your heart to a girl somewhere and are pining for her. The only solution is to tell the Stupendous Seer all about it."

"Or you could let me sit here in peace."

"You mean sit here and brood," the other man countered. A moment later, "hey, you didn't deny you're brooding over a girl!"

"Leave it Kisame," Itachi groaned.

"Hmm, you've been sneaking off ever since we stopped in Deaigashirani so you must have met someone special there. A serving girl at one of the restaurants maybe? Did your eyes meet suddenly as she gave you a drink? Or perhaps a merchant's daughter who you stalk, waiting for her father to turn away so you can sweep her off her feet?"

Itachi wasn't amused, "Go back inside and leave me alone," he growled. To have Kisame hit the mark on the first bit and mangle the second was too much for him to deal with.

"Fine, fine," Kisame threw up his hands, "you really need to get laid," the shark-man mumbled, going back inside.

Alone to his thoughts once more, Itachi sighed. As nice as it would be to have someone to talk to about all of this, Itachi couldn't be sure as to where Kisame's loyalties would lie in the end. If Itachi split away from the group, would Kisame try to kill him? Or leave with him?

He didn't have the answers, and because he couldn't fully trust Kisame, he couldn't reveal Takara to him. It was dangerous for both her and him if someone found out they were still in contact with each other. Each time he went to her, he was careful to disguise his tracks and hide his presence. No one from the Akatsuki could follow him, nor could they spy on him when he met his redheaded lover.

Not that they'd had anything to even try and spy on, recently.

When he'd left Takara's apartment, it was in anger and frustration. He was willing to bare himself to her, yet she still held back from him. She refused to tell the truth. Every description she gave of her feelings screamed that she loved him, yet she denied it. She insisted her feelings were in the past.

If they were in the past, then why were they lovers? Why did they go to all the trouble and risk to be together, if only for a little while? Why hadn't she moved on and gotten a boyfriend that would be more convenient for her? He knew that others found her attractive; she was gorgeous. Unless there was love between them, their actions were completely unreasonable.

And so, he was testing her. Testing if she would come back to him. If she did, he knew that she was in love with him still. If she didn't… he'd check on her of course, discretely, but if she moved on…

For now, it was just a test of his self-control, trying to restrain himself from going after her. He missed her; this was the longest they'd been apart since they'd gotten back together. He missed her smile, he missed the way she'd talk with her hands expressing as much as her words and expressions, he missed the feeling of her below him as he fucked her mercilessly, he missed the way she looked as she rode him, taking her pleasure while giving him his.

He loved her, every inch, from her pretty red hair to her tiny little toes. He loved the way she swore at the slightest provocation and the way she tried not to swear around children. He loved that she could craft a mismatched group of shinobi into her family, despite the fact she tried to hold them all at arm's length. He loved her persistence, her strengths, her weaknesses; he loved everything about her.

Yet she couldn't see it, wouldn't see it. Takara refused to see that he loved her and he wasn't afraid of it. He wasn't afraid of the pain and the heartbreak she could cause him, that he would take her, take everything she gave him and revel in it. Their profession was a dangerous one and they could both die at any time. He knew this, and he knew that if he died, he wanted her to know that he loved her unconditionally. His love was a promise to her, a promise to always love her no matter what happened, even death. It was a promise to always be true to her, and to show her the truth of himself, to not hide things like he had before the massacre (even if that had been for her own good). Yet she wouldn't see it.

It was driving him crazy, trying to get her to understand. She knew how to read him, she understood him better than anyone, but she was being purposefully obtuse. It was maddening.

Just as maddening as having to wait for her to stop being stubborn and come find him. He had self-control, she had stubbornness, and now it was a wait to see which one of them broke first.

He was hoping it was her, and soon.

* * *

The first two months without him she didn't question, the second two concerned her and at the end of the sixth month without seeing him, Takara took a detour on one of her missions and tracked her erstwhile lover down. When she finally found him he was standing on a rocky ledge in Tsuchi no Kuni, a country she would really rather not be in. She hated the damn bastards.

"You scared the fucking hell out of me, Uchiha," Takara growled when she found him.

"Uzumaki," he responded. The use of her real clan name failed to surprise her; she'd assumed once he knew where she was from he'd learn who she was. She supposed it was fair play for him to be able to throw her clan name at her the way she used his.

"You're still pissed at me," she noted, leaning against the rock behind her casually, waiting to see if he'd look at her.

"I don't know why you'd think that," his voice pitched to appear 'calm', but Takara knew from the barest inflection he was irritated.

"I thought you would be fucking me by now. It's been a while since we've gone this long without screwing." She knew exactly what to say to antagonize him, always had.

"Why would I fuck you, Uzumaki?" He turned toward her, not moving more than necessary to look at her. The vulgar language, uncharacteristic of him, turned her on, sending shivers down her spine. The boy had to know that with that attitude and his looks, hell, the reputation too, that cursing was just a bit much. He was sexy, with a voice she could listen to for days. Make him curse and her body responded as if he'd been physically touching her. Takara arched her back and stretched, pressing her chest outwards. His eyes dropped from her face and she smirked before settling back lazily.

"I don't know, 'cause we're both horny and I'm a good lay?" Her tone was dismissive, casual, calculated to leave her needs out of it. Even if her body was in that place where it wanted to be touched by something, anything, as long as it ended with her orgasming, taking a breath and then going right back at it, over and over until she was relaxed and ready to sleep.

Her comment shattered his facade and he strode toward her furiously, trapping her relaxed body against the mountain. The cloak and hat he'd been wearing were off his body before his touched hers and she could look uninhibited into his raging red eyes. "You think so little of yourself, of us, why?" His voice was low, growling. It only aroused her more. Takara loved when he lost control.

"Why? Because we have _nothing_."

"Nothing? You call this nothing?" He slipped a hand lightning fast into her pants, pressing hard on her clit as he kissed her harshly. The coil in her stomach, built from months of no sex, burned as he stroked her, her wetness spilling onto his hand as she ground down onto the fingers, her pussy clenching and hoping he'd slip inside her. She tried to kiss him with need to meet his anger, but he pulled back, his fingers sliding out of her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing erratic.

"We have sex," Takara spat, the tension intense. She was close, so, so close and he was a bastard for stopping. All she needed was a little pressure in the right spot and she'd cum for him, moaning his name like he was a god. That she could still talk was a testament to the control she'd had bred into her.

"Then why are you here? Why did you come looking for me?" He demanded. She met his eyes, her own half-lidded but rising slowly as she tried to overcome her body's reactions. She might need to brush up on the whole 'control' thing again. She tended to ignore it when it wasn't necessary.

She shrugged her shoulders, ignoring the scrapes of the mountainside, "I hadn't heard from you."

"Why do you care if you hear from me?"

Takara was lost. How could she explain the fear that had nestled in her stomach over the past few months alongside the desire? The need to know he was okay as much as her need to have his body. The hole left in her life without his company, a hole she knew quite well and _detested_.

"I was worried," she admitted, then made an excuse, "If you get killed something is seriously wrong."

"Why?"

"If something kills you, then they're more powerful than you, which means they're more powerful than me, which means I have a hell of a lot of work to do," Takara hedged.

"Lie."

"Truth." She wasn't lying: if anything ever happened to him then she was in trouble. She might be incredibly powerful, but if someone could kill him, they could kill her.

"It may be true but that's not why you're worried about me." A smirk played around his lips.

"Tell me why then," she demanded of him. 'Let him come up with his own answer,' she thought.

"Are we friends?"

The question threw her. "Of course," she said, eyebrows scrunching together. Her response got a little sigh from him and a casual caress of her cheek by the hand that wasn't hovering much lower.

"So you care for me." She nodded. That much she'd never made a secret, everyone in Konoha had known they were close. She hadn't had half the walls back then to keep him out.

"You want me to fuck you." His finger slipped back inside of her, brushing her clit. Keeping her eyes open and her mind focused became difficult.

"I thought that much was obvious," she gasped, rocking against the digit. Her body had started to wind down in the interlude but when he resumed his ministrations it heated again, the feelings even more intense.

"Why not let another take you? Why wait for me to do this," he pressed hard and then pulled back a little to circle the tight bud with the very tip of his finger. She quivered, the pleasure intense and the strokes almost enough.

"Please," she murmured, bucking her hips. Yet he pulled back. "Uchiha," she whined, moving one of the hands she'd been using to try and support herself to slide her fingers against the bulge in his pants. Oh, he wanted her all right. He always had gotten off on making her crazy.

"Tell me," he used his free hand to pin hers against the rock even as his other stroked slowly, keeping her hovering.

"You're good," she moaned as his finger slid just a little inside.

"Is that all?" He pulled his finger back out, raising an eyebrow and waiting. "There are men who are trained to please a woman and all they require is a little money for their services."

She was silent and then looked down, closing her eyes. He knew she wouldn't do such a thing, that until she'd met with him again she'd been untouched. If she was willing to trust a stranger enough to let them give her pleasure she would have availed herself of them during the nights where she had burned with desire to the point she used her own fingers to simply alleviate some of the tension, her own touch never enough to truly satisfy, not when she knew what it was like to have him touch her, taste her, _fill_ her and finally leave her completely sated and safe in his arms. She ignored the voice that reminded her part of the reason she hadn't was that the thought of another touching her was repulsive. "I trust you." Her voice was quiet.

He kissed her head approvingly. "So you only allow men you trust to do this?" He slid the finger back to her clit, dipping in and playing with the bud, only a quick touch, then another, light and teasing. She trembled and a whimper escaped her lips, but she nodded. "You trust Kakashi, yes? And Gai?"

"Way too old for me," she twisted her hips against his finger but he pulled his finger away, only replacing it when she stilled. Her head was tilted back now, her chest heaving.

"What about-"

"Just you." Takara growled, giving up. "Only you."

"You have no idea how hot that is," Itachi shook his head as Takara took her free hand and wrapped it around his neck, her fingers stroking the nape.

"Will you please just fuck me already?!" She pouted at him and he sighed. He slid his hand out of her and she trembled. "Itaaachi."

"Relax, little one." He murmured, picking his cloak and hat up and storing them in a scroll. He then turned around and swept her into his arms.

"Uchiha?" She questioned, snuggling closer automatically.

"There's a cave a little ways away. I'm not taking you where anyone can see."

"But fingering me is okay," she nipped at his neck, pleased.

"Vampire," he chuckled, carrying her to the cave. He ducked inside, heading towards the back. When he laid her down, she gave him a very pointed look, full of desire and anticipation. Takara practically purred as he slid her clothes off with practiced touches, even as she tried to get his off as well. He was _finally _giving her what she wanted.

Itachi didn't make her wait long before he slid his fingers into her, easily making her cum with his thumb tending to her nub and his middle and index fingers curled inside of her. She screamed his name as the pleasure snatched away her senses, stealing her ability to think at all. She'd missed this, missed him, and it was way too good to have him back.

* * *

In the aftermath of a marathon sex session that had lasted into the early hours of the morning, Itachi held his lover to him, her body tucked under his arm and wrapped in a blanket he'd unsealed at one point. He was fighting to keep his eyes open, unwilling to sleep on the off chance she'd leave him again.

He'd taken her because he'd been unable to stop himself, unable to leave her hanging and needy the way she obviously was. He'd made her work for it though, and been rewarded for his torture.

There was absolutely no way he could hide away from her again the way he'd been the past six months. She wasn't the only one who had been seriously lusting; he liked her body too much, liked her moans and gasps, liked the way she moaned his name and begged for his touch. Earlier… watching her come apart at his touch while fighting to play word games with him… it was a turn on, to watch a woman he respected so much for her strength give up and let him in.

From here, he would have to talk her into a corner slowly, until she had to admit deeper feelings. He'd gotten her to say they were still friends, that she still trusted him. And he'd gotten her to say she wanted only him.

Takara had tracked him down, worried about him. He knew she'd lied about why –it would be worrisome for her if he was killed, proving that she was still not powerful enough to face any opponent and live, not that anyone was- and that the true reason was that she loved him. He just needed to convince her of it and get her comfortable enough to admit it.

For now, he needed to keep her in his arms, with him, if only for the sake of his own sanity. Kami-sama knew he'd missed her. Convincing himself every day not to go to her had been a task of monumental proportions. He hadn't realized how dependent on her he had become (again) until he'd pulled himself away (again).

They'd been friends since she came to Konoha an angry, hurting six year old with a mouth she wasn't afraid to use if someone pissed her off. He'd been quiet but that hadn't stopped him from being the main source of her ire. He'd been better- not by much but in the right areas- to the point that she consistently lost spars to him. Takara had possessed advanced taijutsu training, kenjutsu and some ninjutsu but her genjutsu knowledge was lacking. He'd won easily with genjutsu every time until she'd used another talent, one he hadn't realized she possessed, to come up with a solution. He hadn't known why she'd possessed the ability to do so at the time, but she'd had-still had- an amazing talent with seals. Although it had apparently taken her all the year he was beating her to do so, she'd invented a seal that rendered her invulnerable to genjutsu. He'd spent the next year trying to beat her as once his advantage was taken away, she had the better techniques, able to fight at close range quickly. After he'd closed the gap using shuriken and wire tricks, they'd traded off the ability to beat the other. By the time they became chūnin, they'd been partners who had known each other's moves perfectly and were nearly unstoppable when together.

Without any active intent, he'd become the one person in Konoha she depended on and she'd become his respite from his family. Unlike them, her opinion was only on what he was, not what he should be. As chūnin, then jōnin and finally as ANBU, they'd become closer, so close they shared a nickname and bingo book entry. They were the first twelve year olds to ever have a flee-on-sight order, even if was only from the minor shinobi villages. They were known for being difficult to beat individually and impossible to beat if you let them fight together. They'd practiced to the point that they were in sync. His Sharingan helped, because he could see what she was about to do and then add his power to it, but even without it, they'd simply known each other well enough that fighting together was easy. Fighting against each other had become harder, because that predictive ability meant they were fighting five steps ahead of their body's movements.

When they'd hit puberty and their bodies had changed, the attraction had been immediate and intense. One day she'd been his best friend, the next he'd arrived to practice with her and realized she was gorgeous and he wanted more. He'd kissed her the day she'd turned thirteen and from there… they'd learned each other in ways they hadn't dreamed possible. The two of them had been thick as thieves and he'd already been sleeping in her bed at times before they'd gotten together, an exercise not in passion but in comfort. It simply happened more frequently afterward, although they hadn't coupled until a few months before he'd left.

He'd loved her then and being separated from her had been torturous for the four years they hadn't been in contact. He'd fought his instincts when he'd left her, and fought them every day to not go back to her. Then he'd run into her when she'd been in Ame for a mission and the attraction had hit him like a fist into the gut. He'd believed her beautiful when he'd left but seeing her at almost nineteen… he'd nearly fallen over in shock. She'd matured, her body filling out, her hair longer than ever and her chakra levels higher than his own, calling to him like a beacon. And then… and then she'd met his eyes and it was lightning between them, their bodies taking over and pulling them into each other's arms, their lips meeting before either could actually think about the consequences. They'd ended up in her hotel room, tangled together until he'd realized he had to leave or risk Kisame coming after him. He preferred the Akatsuki as far from her as possible.

Afterwards they'd started meeting up whenever one of them had the time and the urge to find the other, at first never staying longer together than it took to satisfy each other and then recover enough to do whatever they had been sent out to do. Then one day Takara had shown up, pissed off at her Commander, and spent an hour ranting at him before spinning around suddenly and kissing him. He'd been surprised at the chain of events but she was absolutely gorgeous when she was angry and it had only turned him on more when she'd taken control and taken him fast and furious, riding him like a goddess given mortal form. In the aftermath they'd laid tangled together and he'd kissed her hair, chuckling. She'd hit him lightly on the chest and just like that their easy friendship was back and they took more time to just talk before and after they fucked each other senseless. He'd come to relyhh on being able to tell her anything and everything, knowing the important information would get into reports and their private life and whatnot would be kept secret. She was known for picking up information wherever she went so the extra tidbits he slipped her simply said she had a source with an ear to the pulse of the shinobi underworld. It wasn't uncommon, in shinobi who had been around a while, to make contacts, even of the unsavory sort. The village tended to overlook this, provided there wasn't information given out in exchange.

Now he was fighting a seemingly impossible foe to get her back even to that point as he dragged her forward into loving him again or, rather, admitting it. His confession had taken the easiness away because he'd pulled them both away from any ability to pretend they were only friends with benefits and thrown them back into what they had been; two people so much in love with each other it was blindingly obvious. They'd never said the words the first time, but they hadn't needed to. This time was different; they were older and him leaving… they still needed to talk about that properly.

At the present, he was going to have to give her what she wanted -him- and just talk her into loving him and admitting it, likely by similar methods to what he'd done earlier. Shockingly, keeping her hovering was a good way to get her to give in and tell him the truth.

"Itachi, unless you plan on finishing what you start you should stop doing that," his lover arched against him and he looked down at her, taking into account what his hands were doing as he thought of her. He'd ended up rolling her over onto her back and started tracing her skin, his hand ending up circling her breast, touching everywhere but her nipple which was now erect. It was an easy way to turn her on and one he'd developed a habit of doing to arouse her or wake her.

He was about to lean down and lick the protrusion when she shivered, and he noticed the goose bumps on her skin. "You're cold."

"Then you should warm me up," she shrugged, reaching for him. He knelt, taking the blanket that had fallen by the wayside and spreading it out, then grabbing his pants. From another scroll came more blankets (an old habit, Takara wasn't warm often) and he sat beside her before spreading them over them both. Takara slid closer to him and he pillowed her head on his arm.

"Go back to sleep Kara," he kissed her head. She needed the rest more than another bout of sex.

"You weren't," she commented sleepily, slipping her arm over his waist.

"No," he admitted, tucking the blankets tighter around her.

"Why?" She yawned then nuzzled his chest. His heart clenched. Did she know how adorable she looked when she let her guards down and relaxed for him? When she showed how much she still trusted him rather than having to be forced into admitting it? When she looked for affection rather than sex, even if the latter one was easier for her to admit she wanted?

"I was thinking." He told her simply.

"'Bout what?" Her voice dropped as sleep began to claim her.

"You."

"Hmm. Think of me later, sleep now." She ordered.

"Hn," he vocalized. She quieted in his arms and he smiled at the sleeping girl. He whispered, "If I sleep you might leave," into the dark, not expecting a reply.

"I'll stay," she murmured against him. "Now sleep." He looked down at her in surprise and she blinked up at him. "Sleep."

"Okay," he agreed as she snuggled closer. It seemed like such a contrast for the two of them to love this, love being as close to each other as was physically possible considering their reputations, but it fit nonetheless. Takara, when she let herself, liked touching, liked being close to people [him] and relaxing, letting go of worries and cares. She'd lost her family and her village and it explained why she'd always tried (and often failed) to keep herself from forming attachments. If she didn't care, she couldn't be hurt. He'd always been the exception to it all, she just hadn't quite accepted that was still true.

Sighing, he fell into a deep slumber, her body relaxed against him. He'd trust in her word and perhaps make way with her in the morning.

* * *

Takara woke up, an unfamiliar chakra signature disturbing her rest. It wasn't close enough yet she could tell anything decisive, just that it was powerful. She growled. Right now, she was much too comfortable and getting up didn't sound like a preferable option. She knew though, that anyone that powerful would have some sensing ability once they were closer, and they needed to split if they didn't want to fight.

"Itachi-kun," she shook him lightly. He woke with a start and she kept him from jumping up. "Someone is coming," she told him. He closed his eyes to try to get his own reading and then muttered, "Damn."

She quirked her brow at him and he shook his head. "My Akatsuki partner."

"Great," she grumbled, her fingers flipping through seals. Her distinctive features morphed into an average looking kunoichi with brown hair and features predominantly found in Iwa. Takara stood up, shedding the blankets and pulling out a storage scroll to unseal clothes. She dressed quickly as her lover did the same and then she slipped out of the cave under the cover of one of his genjutsus as he moved to intercept his partner. Their goodbye was nothing more than the quickest kiss and she was running towards Kusa as soon as she was off the mountain in order to complete the mission she was supposed to be on, rather than her personal one. As she crossed the earth country border, she dismissed the henge but let the genjutsu stay. There was no reason to get rid of something that could only help her and Itachi's genjutsus were extremely hard to detect. She'd be invisible until she dismissed it and she'd prefer not to until she got back to Konoha: she had the ability to sense the chakra flowing through it and it let her feel like she still had her best friend wrapped around her. It was an amazing feeling to have his essence everywhere. Oh and he'd capitalize on that if he knew. And he did.

It wasn't difficult for her, now that she was thinking without her libido in the way, to realize that he was going to go after her relentlessly until he convinced her to love him.

It would be easy to. When they'd been young they'd been so, so very obviously head over heels, even to each other. He'd never said the words, neither had she, but it had been there in every look and every touch. _Mine. Yours, duh. Love you. You're gorgeous. Hold me, please? Kiss, now. Always? Forever._

She'd believed in it. Believed that they would always be side-by-side, kicking ass and taking names, then going back home and being together. Then he left and she was left with a choice of being heartbroken or accepting there was no such thing as love. The latter had been easier for her and she'd simply shoved everything aside and focused on her work. Then she'd seen him again and the need for him, the physical and the emotional had been overpowering. After that, they'd just thrown themselves into sex and she'd convinced herself that if they ignored the emotions and focused on the physical release, everything would be okay. Then she'd found herself talking to him, opening up like she hadn't felt comfortable enough to do in ages and she'd let herself fall into her part of their harmony. Soon she'd been able to talk to him, to laugh and joke with him and it had felt natural and right.

Now it would be so, so easy just to let herself love him wholeheartedly but she couldn't. He was weaseling his way back in but she was just barely keeping him on the edges of her heart. If she let him in again before long he would shatter her, even if he didn't mean to. They were in a business where a long life was hitting 30 and it would not take more than carelessness or a lucky throw for their opponent for one of them to be killed. She'd lost him once while in love with him… if she lost him again she would lose herself as well. It had taken every ounce of mental fortitude she had to pull herself together the first time; she didn't have it in her to go through this again.

She couldn't love him. She couldn't and he didn't seem to understand that. He was stubborn, he had always been stubborn (not that she was any better) and it was going to murder her because he was not going to give up on her and on making her admit how she felt about him. And if he did it like he had earlier he was going to win because she had no defense against him when he teased her except tease him back and he was a little too good at stopping that. He would make his way into her heart and then she would be doomed.

Uchiha Itachi was the one person who had the potential to break her beyond repair and Takara doubted there was anything she could do about it.

* * *

He sunk his teeth into her pulse point and she shuddered against him. Her body trembled and she shook as he soothed her neck with his tongue, then bit even harder. She whimpered, causing him to smirk against her neck.

" Please, Itachi, _please_." His left hand slipped down her body, cupping her ass. He squeezed and she leaned into him, her hips grinding into his. He felt his cock harden more.

"You are an impatient little minx," he chuckled, gazing down at her. His hand began trailing up her side, under her top.

"Yes, we established that last time." His temptress rocked against him, a teasing swipe of her hips against the bulge in his pants. The sensation was enough to make him groan.

Itachi stripped her of her shirt and she returned the favor, their clothes dropping by the wayside until neither was covered. Itachi pushed her back onto the bed and slid his hands up her arms, pulling them up over her head. Time to get to work.

Before she could figure out his intent, he had both her wrists cuffed to the headboard, keeping her from being able to touch him. With her arms inhibited, tying her legs spread eagle to the bed was much easier.

"Uchiha what the fuck are you doing?" Like she usually did when annoyed or retreating from the personal, she used his clan name.

"What does it look like?" Itachi asked, laying a kiss on her anklebone. Her leg jerked and he steadied it calmly.

"I love you," he murmured against the bone before trailing his lips and fingers up her calf. He reached her knee, "I love you."

"Itachi-" he moved and covered her mouth with one hand.

"Listen," he demanded of her, going back to his ministrations. He worked his way up to her hip, then started over at her other ankle, whispering, "I love you," at every joint.

He repeated the process with her arms, before settling himself above her. Her eyes were half lidded, her center spilling juices as she trembled. She was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen.

"Takara," he said, reminding himself that he had a job to do, one that didn't involve burying himself in her just yet.

"Ita," she blinked up at him, trying to buck her hips into his.

"When did you first realize you were in love with me?" He asked, moving his hands to her stomach. He watched coherency return to her eyes.

"I told you, Uchi-" he cut her off.

"Before I left, Kara, when did you realize it before I left?" He stroked the skin around her bellybutton softly.

"Why-"

"Do I want to know? Consider it curiosity."

"Uchiha, you have me tied up underneath you, soaking wet and willing for you to take me anyway you want as long as it involves your dick inside me. Can you _please_ just fuck me?" Her words left him burning to do exactly what she wanted. She had such a dirty mouth. It was terribly attractive.

"Don't you think that's exactly why I want you to tell me now? Any other time, you'll dodge the question. But if you want me to, say ravish your breast, you'll answer me. Otherwise, I can wait." It took reserves of control to respond to her, to hold off his pleasure to torment her with hers but it would be worth it.

"You bastard," Takara breathed out, her eyes widening. He smirked and trailed a finger across her stomach. The muscles trembled and he saw her bite her lip. He kept his touch light, teasing. "I hate you," she gasped, head falling back.

"You want more?" She nodded without hesitation. "Then answer my question."

She was silent and he backed off.

"Do you remember the mission we had to Hatsunefuku?" Takara asked after a moment.

Itachi kissed her forehead as he closed his eyes. That mission… he'd nearly lost her. It had gone wrong nearly from the beginning and had put both of them in positions they'd never anticipated, making decisions they'd never expected to have to make.

"Every second of that damn thing."

"I realized I loved you when they threatened to kill you if I didn't talk and that if it kept you alive and healthy I would betray Konoha in a heartbeat." Itachi's heart broke at her words.

"Takara…" he couldn't think of what to say and so kissed her instead. She responded to the need in his kiss, letting him take control of it rather than fighting. When he pulled away, he was tempted to release her, to claim her, to make love to her and prove they were both still alive, still together.

"Do you want me to release you?" He asked, realizing this might bring back bad memories. He'd figure something else out: he wouldn't make her relive that nightmare.

"Yes, but not because it reminds me of that hellhole. If you want me tied to continue this," Takara bit her lip, "then you can leave me tied. But I want my chance to touch you, Itachi."

"Later," he murmured, laying kisses all over her face, down her neck and to her collarbone. He laved and nipped his way to one breast, massaging it with his hand as he went. He loved her, knew it, and then she did things like this and he found himself loving her more.

"Fuck me, Ita," she begged him and he shuddered at the demand. He put his tongue to her nipple and rasped it across the hardened bud. She trembled and her body tensed.

"I will, Takara-chan, be patient," he murmured, pulling away. She shivered as cold air hit her skin. "Why won't you love me?"

"Itachi…" she gave him a pleading look.

"Tell me, Takara, and I'll let you cum." He could tell she needed to, that her body was begging for release. He let his hands begin at her shoulders and start to massage broad circles down her arms, making sure she knew his touch was there if she would give him the answer. As he waited, Itachi switched tactics, tracing small, barely-there zigzags back up.

"If I do it would break me," she admitted softly. Itachi halted the touch in shock.

'How, Takara, how would it break you?"

"I answered the question, you said you'd let me cum." She pouted and rolled her hips toward him.

"My game, my rules, and I'm not satisfied with your answer. Explain it," he demanded, smirking at the growl that came from her throat. She was one sexy picture laid out beneath him like that, especially once you added in the animalistic noises. Itachi trailed one finger from the center of her neck down through the valley between her breasts and to her navel.

The girl underneath him went limp and bit her lip. "If I let myself love you and I lost you… I couldn't handle it again." She whispered, almost too softly for him to hear. Itachi closed his eyes.

Of course. It should have been obvious, no, it _had_ been obvious. His hands went to her bonds, untying the girl.

"I swear to you, Takara, I will not leave you ever again. I will be by your side whenever you wish it, no matter what." He vowed, kissing her forehead.

"No!" She started trying to pull away completely, fire filling her eyes. "You can't promise me that!"

"Takara-"

"Don't you 'Takara-chan' me!" She shoved him onto his back, hovering over him. "You can't promise that to me, Uchiha, because that's not a promise you can keep! For one, I always want you by my side and that isn't feasible. Two, what if you get killed? You can't promise me you won't be, Uchiha, no one can promise that and if you die, you leave me. And if we fight and you take off…" she shook her head and then kissed him, hard, letting their bodies press flush against each other.

When she pulled back for air, he rolled them gently over so that he was above her, propped up on his elbows.

"I love you, Takara-chan. That means that I won't take off on you, that I will fight for you, that I will do whatever is in my power to stay with you as long as I am able. It means that I will do whatever it takes to keep you happy. As for the rest… no I cannot promise that I won't die on you, but can you promise me the same? How do you think I will feel if you die, Kara-chan? Yet I still love you, I know not how to feel anything different. I will _always_ love you."

"Can't love you, can't," Takara closed her eyes and muttered under him. Itachi closed his eyes as well and let himself relax. He'd gotten enough from her tonight, pressing her further would do neither of them any good. He kissed her gently, feeling her body start relaxing as he touched her and she touched him.

He did owe her a good orgasm after all and this game only worked if he followed through on his end.

* * *

It was a position neither of them had ever thought they would be in, standing on opposite sides, their superiors expecting them to fight. Takara looked at Itachi then at her comrades and back at her lover.

It was in unison they nodded and walked to the center, Itachi folding her into his arms. Despite the intense reality of the situation they were in, she relaxed against him.

"I won't harm you, Takara-chan," Itachi whispered and Takara smiled.

"Nor I you," she replied, her world centering. There wasn't a choice for her in this but the choice to side with him. "If it means leaving here with you, I don't care. I won't fight to kill you."

"I love you, Takara-chan," he whispered into her ear.

"Do we have a plan?" She asked him, ignoring the urge of her heart to reciprocate.

"Do you want to stay in Konoha?"

"Yes, but-"

Itachi cut her off, "Then I join you. If after all of this they plan to kill me, well, I'll leave."

"If they try it I go with you," Takara replied. "I'm sick of living without you."

"I'll welcome your company," he chuckled, his lips pressing to her hair.

They pulled apart long enough for Itachi to shed his cloak, throwing it to the ground, but rejoined, Takara replacing herself under his arm, her own wrapped around his waist as they stepped back to the ranks of Konoha nin, many of whom smiled knowingly.

"You would choose them over us." A Pein growled.

"I would choose her over you always." The Uchiha very deliberately pressed a kiss to her temple. What they were starting to do was a game to them: 'how much affection to each other does it take before the enemy gets pissed off and distracted?' More than a few of the Konoha crowd were already getting into position, understanding how this worked from missions they'd run long ago.

"What on Earth would make you want such an ugly chit?" The masked man spoke and every shinobi in the area froze from a blast of Itachi and Takara's combined KI. Itachi was pissed that Takara had been insulted, Takara was pissed she was dismissed so readily. Yet the game had to be played. Takara's arm around Itachi tightened and she leaned up and kissed him hard, which lowered the KI in the area considerably as the two made out in front of everyone. She slipped her other arm up and wrapped his ponytail in her hand, trying to make it look more intense than it actually was, which was difficult considering if he fucked her now she almost wouldn't care they had an audience. Then again, prudishness had never been one of her traits.

"I think, Tobi-san, that Itachi-san disagrees with your evaluation of her appearance," Kisame chuckled as the two broke apart.

Takara discretely made a clone in the trees behind them, knowing Itachi was doing the same. They'd have to Kawarimi soon, when they really pissed them off. There were six 'Pein's (Itachi had told her they were all controlled by the same man), Uchiha Obito, Konan, Kisame, and Zetsu. Even with Itachi helping, they were well and truly fucked.

"This is a surprise," one of the Pains spoke, "Zetsu, you did not tell us Itachi-kun had a lover."

The creepy plant-man spoke and Takara shuddered inwardly as she and Itachi subtly switched, their perspective changing as they watched the back of the Akatsuki rather than the front.

"I did not know," the plant man replied.

"He could have watched us?" Takara signed to Itachi, hands flashing. People she knew about watching, she could deal with, people she didn't know were watching, not okay.

"Relax; I made sure he could not. I promise." Itachi tried to calm her down, his hands moving quickly.

"Alright." She returned, a bit of tension leaving. "Who do we take out first?"

"The woman," he returned, which she knew meant Konan.

Takara's interest was diverted to the group when Kisame broke away from the other Akatsuki members and spoke, looking at the clones of her and Itachi, "you'll need more help if you want to be able to bed her later."

"I don't appreciate the turn of phrase, but the sentiment is correct, yes," the clone-Itachi remarked. Takara kissed her version on the cheek as her counterpart did the same.

"Alright," the shark-man walked away from the other cloaked nin, tossing the cloudy garment in Obito's face. Takara held back a laugh.

"You aren't good boys," Tobi's voice carried a pout as he removed the obscuring cloth. "Tobi is a good boy," the masked man moved, going after the clones and Kisame. The others took this as a signal to attack, and the real versions of Takara and Itachi hopped out and went after the purple haired kunoichi. It was going to be a long battle.

* * *

Itachi stood in the Hokage's office, Takara in his embrace, her back to his chest. They were covered in blood, both theirs and not, much the same as everyone else in the room. Across the desk was Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, but around the room were their comrades new and old: Kisame, Kakashi-taichō, Ibiki-sensei, Anko-chan, Uzumaki-kun, Haruno-chan, Shizune-san, Hyūga Hinata-san, Tenzō-san, Taichō-sama and Aishi-san, among others.

"You're washing my hair," Takara murmured at him and he smiled.

"Will you reciprocate?"

"I suppose," She rested her head against his chest.

"Alright then," he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Aishi spoke first, "How long have the two of you been seeing each other?"

"Almost two years before he left, four or so years without seeing each other, and together when we can be for the past… almost four years." Takara replied for them both. She always had been their 'spokesperson.' Unless threatening had to be done. That typically fell to him. She could do it but, well, he was typically a tad more intimidating unless you knew her and what she could do when angered (not irritated, but angered, there was a difference).

"So he's where you've been getting your information." Taichō-sama chuckled. "I should have figured that one out."

"Not all of it but most of it, and I'm glad you didn't, otherwise you would have been obligated to report me." Takara answered with a smile. She'd always been close to their commander.

Tsunade grumbled under her breath. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't arrest you both right now."

"If you try, we'd leave and you can't afford that." He could tell she was smirking. He was.

"Damn it," the blonde woman swore.

"I would give up on arguing against them, Hokage-sama; it never ends well for anyone." Ibiki sighed, shooting the two of them a look. Of anyone, he would know.

"You would know because?"

"I was their jōnin sensei when these two," he waved a hand, "were just impetuous little brats who spent half their time trying to kill each other and the other half acting like a couple on their honeymoon."

"We were never like that!" Takara protested.

"Two words: Raiarashi Forest." The head of T&I gave them a pointed look.

"You were the one who set us up on that exercise in the middle of freaking winter!" The redhead returned. Itachi remembered that mission well: he'd been tasked with trying to keep Takara warm despite the conditions as they tried to track one of Ibiki-sensei's friends down and capture him. They'd spent a good deal of it arguing about the best way to do things, and a good deal of it with her tucked as closely as possible into his side, trying to steal his warmth for herself.

"A shinobi does not get to pick the weather conditions they work in." Ibiki responded and Itachi chuckled.

"We were not the easiest team to train." Itachi admitted, addressing the blonde Hokage. Anko laughed.

"Speak for yoursel-ves," the woman laughed at first but her voice dropped when the other three glared. "Okay, fine, I was part of the problem but I wasn't half as bad as those two."

"No, you were fine, up until these two learned to get along and you hit puberty," Ibiki gave the purple-haired woman a look of annoyance. "At least by the time they did they were out of my hair and so devoted to each other that as long as you made sure they had their own room, everything was fine."

"Had their own room?" The pink haired girl spoke, eying them. Itachi resisted a chuckle.

"Yeah, so we didn't have to watch them when they were all over each other." Aishi said.

"We weren't that bad."

"You could've been worse, I'll admit that," the woman said.

"Can we please move on from talking about their love life? We're probably going to watch them do it all over again, soon enough." Anko whined and Itachi chuckled. If he had any say in it, they'd be worse this time around.

* * *

When Takara and Itachi entered her apartment, their clothes, armor, and weaponry were hastily discarded and the two were in the shower almost immediately, their lips sealed together as water sluiced over them.

Takara pulled back, "less kissing, more washing, quicker bed."

"Good idea," Itachi replied, before darting in for another kiss. She responded, fumbling with one hand for shampoo she shoved into his chest.

"Wash, now," she panted. Takara was done with waiting, she wanted her lover now, but they were covered in blood and it needed to be off them before they could fall into her bed and remind it what it was like to have two people have sex on it. She was sure it had missed it as much as she had.

Itachi's hands slipped into her hair, turning it soapy and she hummed happily. She loved the feeling of his fingers in her hair, massaging her scalp. With one hand, she reached for her body wash, managing to grab it and get some in her hands without dropping it. Setting it back on the ledge, she began washing Itachi's body.

The warmth of the shower, the feeling of Itachi's hands in her hair, and the feeling of his skin under her fingertips combined to relax Takara, to slow her lust and make her appreciate the moment.

"We have time," she leaned her head back into the spray, the realization settling over her.

"Hmm?" Itachi looked down at her as the last of the shampoo and conditioner rinsed away.

"We don't have to rush. We don't have to go anywhere. You don't have to leave. Anyone could come in and see us and we wouldn't get in trouble!" She laughed happily. "We could spend five hours making love and then five more, without having to worry."

She had him. After nearly four years apart and four years scraping together whatever time they could, she had him, freely, openly. They had the chance now to be together again, to watch each other's backs. They'd proved today that together they were a match for even some of the toughest S-ranked criminals in the bingo book. If they actually had a chance to fight together regularly, who knew how good they could be? And if they were together, she didn't have to worry about him getting killed, she could protect him.

"That is true," the dark-eyed man said, leaning down and kissing her. It was slow and languid and Takara let her eyes fall shut. When they broke apart, she grinned again, unable to stop herself. Before she could get even more distracted, she grabbed the shampoo and made him kneel for her. While she began washing his hair, he started washing her legs, his long fingers kneading her muscles. It was bearable, if pleasurable until he began kissing the inside of her thigh as well and she nearly lost her balance, her fingers tightening in his hair.

"Itachi," she gasped, heat flooding her. Okay, maybe not slow.

"Finish," Itachi said and Takara obeyed, quickly working the last of the wash through his hair. He stood and rinsed off, then let her do the same after a quick scrub of her body.

They left the steamy shower, small jutsus drying their bodies quicker than towels and then finally they were in her bedroom and his lips were back upon hers, feasting.

His hands swept over her back, the callouses making her skin tingle. Then she was being lifted, picked up and set in the middle of her bed. Itachi didn't hesitate to climb on top. Takara let him- for now she was okay relaxing under his touch.

"Damn Ita," She gasped as he trailed his lips down her neck, finding her pulse and sucking on it.

"Mine," he growled at her. "You are mine."

"Only on one condition," Takara replied, running a finger down his spine slowly, her touch only barely heavier than air.

"And what would that be?" he pushed up and his eyes met hers.

Takara bit her lip and then responded, "That you are mine as well."

"Oh Kara," Itachi shook his head, leaning down until his lips were barely an inch from hers, "I've always been yours."

She closed the distance, kissing him and then flipping him over. It was her turn to play.

* * *

Itachi woke the next morning, a sated redhead curled against him. His own body was more relaxed than it had been in years. He shifted just a little to better watch her sleep. It was a luxury he didn't often get, especially not when he wasn't sacrificing his own rest to make sure she stayed.

It must have been half an hour before she woke, slowly stirring.

"Mmmph," she grumbled throwing a hand over her eyes. "Why's light 'ere?"

"It could have something to do with it being morning… or afternoon, I haven't bothered to check." Itachi responded. Takara opened her eyes, blinking up at him. He watched as her memories of yesterday played on her face. When she hit the last bit before they'd fallen asleep, having exhausted each other's energy, he was shocked as she pounced on him, kissing him ferociously. He clutched her hips, and then ran a hand up her side to her breast, palming it. She moaned into his mouth and he chuckled before she stole the rest of his breath.

When she pulled back, flushed and breathless, she gave him a smile that lit up her face. Itachi's lips mimicked hers, gently curving up. Then she told him something that stole his breath, shocking him to his core.

"I love you," she said, just a bit too quickly and with a blush that reached the tops of her breasts.

It was everything he'd wanted. Those three words falling from her lips, honest and without prompting. Given freely from her to him. He'd never grinned so widely before. She'd said three words but he heard more: _"You're mine, I'm yours. I trust you. Always. You're not allowed to leave me, we're together now."_

"Takara-chan," he moved a hand to move her chin so her eyes met his, "I love you too." _"Of course. I trust you, too. Forever. Never again, together now and forever."_

He watched her lips twitch upwards before falling back down. She bit down upon her lip. "What's wrong?" He stroked her hair back from her face.

"I'm scared," she admitted to him.

"So am I," he told her, "but I have you and I'm incredibly happy about that."

"So… what's next?" She asked, her lips curving up into a playful smirk, her body relaxing. Itachi matched her smirk with his own. Konoha had no idea what was coming.

* * *

Just one other thing:

I had this story posted on another account and removed it from that one to put it here; the story is mine, I simply changed its placement. It was added to a community I didn't want it to be on and as such placed it here.


End file.
